12V 1000W AIO portable system

[conquistador]

This is a 12V 1000W system with an all in one Easun 230V inverter which I made with the idea of portability in mind. It fits nicely in the boot of my car when I go to my cabin at the end of the world. Otherwise it sits beside my desk and powers my monitor.

The combiner box is currently for 4x 100W panels, and I feel that this is not enough.

The battery is 50Ah which I bought from Liitokala Official Store and I bought another one from LiitokalaVariCoreFlagship Store, they are both G grade (garbage) and I would highly recommend not to buy from these stores. The cells are old and they came with 2.1V to 2.4V. Capacity was under 50Ah, and the batteries were sold as 60Ah. Some cells have corrosion spots which seems to come from inside the cell.

 

[conquistador]

The BMS is a Helltec preceeded by a 60A fuse. There is also a smaller car type fuse of 20A, as there is another 12V connector for lights and low power 12V devices. Battery to inverter are connectors with 25A for each pin, so combined 100A(at least that’s what the chinese manufacturer says). Cables from the battery to the inverter are 2x 10mm² or 2x8 AWG on each + and -.

I closely monitor the cell voltages of each cell by my own ESP8266 circuit which has a TI ADC and analog switches. This device sends the data to a Raspberry where influxdb and Grafana run.

The combiner box contains a 6A fuse for each solar panel, I’m testing different types.

Ideal diodes separate all panels in case of failure. All panels are then combined after the diodes on the blue and yellow connection bar. The diodes are my own design. PCB ordered from China and DIN rail connectors from Aliexpress.

After the inverter, there is a 6A breaker and a kWh counter.

 

[conquistador]

My panels are inside, 2 facing south and 1 facine west, as I live in a rental flat. Surprisingly they generate more power in January than now in May, because they stand at 90°. Currently the power generated is just enough to run my Computer Monitor all day. But even this low 30W consumption has already accumulated to 1.5kWh at time of writing. The lose cables are ideal to measure with a clamp DC meter.

Most parts are from Aliexpress and local hardware stores. Overall cost is about 450€.

What would I do differently?

A 24V or 48V System seems more interesting in case you have space for the panels. For 12V you need at least 8 or 10 Panels, so I would make the combiner box much bigger. I would also buy quality batteries from a reputable seller not this Aliexpress crap.

Otherwise I’m happy with the setup which is portable and a nice toy.

 

[conquistador]

individual cell voltage and battery voltage for the ESP device for today

 

[WYtreasure]

Looks like your build is as pretty as the view.

I would be concerned with the wireless shorting through the paint on the metal shelf.

 

[conquistador]

Yeah, in reality this piece is in a plastic box too, as there are wires directly from the battery coming in.

 

[Kkb]

Beautiful and so inspiring

 

[Jordi]

I love this mini solar projects! And you can power up to 1000W devices. Almost everything a house needs.

I also bought one of these so called "A"-grade batteries from Liitokala Official Store (Aliexpress) who are actually junk. Mine was 60Ah and 3C; but in reality is no more than 0,2C and below 25% capacity I can barely take out 50W of it. I should be happy enough that at SOC 20% I can take 500Wh, so total capacity should be 625Wh compared to 750Wh I should have to see.

Inspiring project!

 

[conquistador]

My initial goal was to run the fridge purely on solar. This is not currently possible as the batteries are junk and as I cannot put more panels outside. Sometimes I carry a panel to the roof top terrace, hang a cable down through my window, and this provides nice power input.
Now after nearly 1 month of intensive use I'm at 2.7kWh consumed. It's a shame that I have an electricity flat rate LOL, otherwise I would save $$.

 

[chess-equality]

Thanks for the kWh meter, I didn't know such a thing exists! Just quickly how much is that?

 

[conquistador]

10€ on Aliexpress and there are some with lights and some which constantly change from displaying W, kWh and A, but I did buy one without light and only showing kWh.
There are also mechanical ones they look like the old style disc type, but they have stepper motors inside.

 

[WYtreasure]

My initial goal was to run the fridge purely on solar. This is not currently possible as the batteries are junk and as I cannot put more panels outside. Sometimes I carry a panel to the roof top terrace, hang a cable down through my window, and this provides nice power input.
Now after nearly 1 month of intensive use I'm at 2.7kWh consumed. It's a shame that I have an electricity flat rate LOL, otherwise I would save $$.

Bummer that you cannot lay out some panels in a semi-permanent fashion on the roof. It sure looks like a panel friendly location to me.

 

[PeSCaLo]

My panels are inside, 2 facing south and 1 facine west, as I live in a rental flat. Surprisingly they generate more power in January than now in May, because they stand at 90°. Currently the power generated is just enough to run my Computer Monitor all day. But even this low 30W consumption has already accumulated to 1.5kWh at time of writing. The lose cables are ideal to measure with a clamp DC meter.

Most parts are from Aliexpress and local hardware stores. Overall cost is about 450€.

What would I do differently?

A 24V or 48V System seems more interesting in case you have space for the panels. For 12V you need at least 8 or 10 Panels, so I would make the combiner box much bigger. I would also buy quality batteries from a reputable seller not this Aliexpress crap.

Otherwise I’m happy with the setup which is portable and a nice toy.
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Great Setup
What are those 4 pin connectors for?

 

[conquistador]

What are those 4 pin connectors for?

one side of the battery the plus has the 4 pin and the minus has 5 pin
This is idiot proof, that means, even I can handle it.
I wanted the battery cables easily removable. These connectors are specified 25A each pin, so this should be good enough.

 

[conquistador]

Bummer that you cannot lay out some panels in a semi-permanent fashion on the roof. It sure looks like a panel friendly location to me.

Well, I could possibly put panels on this little roof. The issue is, I cannot drill or fix them in any way.
Now comes a question in the sense of : how long is a piece of string
Do you guys think that 100W panels of 8kg or bigger panels of 20kg will just sit there, or is there a good chance they will be blown away by strong wind?
We do not have hurricane strength wind, but 2-3 times per year it blows a bit. Does anyone have experience laying panels without fixing?

 

[crossy]

Do you guys think that 100W panels of 8kg or bigger panels of 20kg will just sit there, or is there a good chance they will be blown away by strong wind?

Sandbags are your friends although if the wind can't actually get underneath they probably won't go anywhere.

Bolt some ali angle to the panels so you can put the bags outside the active area. One decent size bag (say 10kg so you can actually lift it) per corner and it's going nowhere

 

[conquistador]

Sandbags are your friends although if the wind can't actually get underneath they probably won't go anywhere.

Well, that's actually a good idea. I'll combine it with "the wind getting under it"
I'll try small long sandbags on the sides. Thanks crossy

 

[SparkyJJO]

Another vote for sand bags. They've held things down on my patio through some pretty gusty winds here. And they're cheap.

I would suggest making sure the bags are protected from the sun (don't have them sticking out from the panel's shadow, for example) - my sand bag I have had out on the patio for a couple years has deteriorated from the sun's UV and split open. Now there is sand spilling all over.

 

[Jordi]

What about gluing? If there is any glue that can be easily removed with solvent afterwards. I would do that in combination with sandbangs. Where I live we had this year record wind storms, it takes just one day for the whole set to fly away and it has to last 25 years.

 

[WYtreasure]

I don't like the looks of the roofing material. It appears delicate & falling apart at the seams. Anything you do could cause failure & then your butt is in a wringer.
My thoughts were to place some panels within the perimeter walls, resting on the tiles. As already stated, sandbags would be good as long as you don't add too much weight.

BUT, I'm starting to think you should broker a deal with the owner, setting up the building with solar power.?‍ Someone is probably going to do it pretty soon, may as well be you.